As the two parallel trends of globalization, technology innovation and human rights advocacy, draw closer together the push-pull effect on the digital divide is creating unintentional barriers. With corporate ambitions and service provider focus on delivery on one side of the divide, and marginalized citizens and policy makers on the other side. Societal inclusion is not just about enabling technologies and accessible services, but rather should be more about effective design around real life experiences. That is, education, skills development, and social behaviour must be an inclusive interactive engagement, so as to understand and remove real barriers to close the digital divide.

Going Digital

I was born in 1984, during a time when integration (which later became known as "inclusive education") was becoming more common, but not yet the norm for blind children in Canada. Despite the fact that I was the only blind child - or person - my family had ever encountered, I was raised in a very supportive environment. My parents ensured that I had access to all the specialized instruction I would need, above and beyond regular school subjects, to support my independence. This meant I learned how to use all the popular assistive technologies of the day.

The OHRC, in the Ontario Regulatory Registry Proposal: 10-CSS002, October 15, 2010 raised a number of concerns about the proposed AODA Integrated Accessibility Regulation (IAR), but seven years later in 2017, we again need to echo those same concerns. Section 9 (2) of the AODA requires the standards development process to determine the long-term accessibility objectives, but seems to have failed in Dealing with existing barriers, and stopping the creation of new barriers, which is an immediate legal duty and therefore should be a short-term objective.

Windows 10 Workshop Notes

Presented by Albert Ruel and Jennifer Jesso
with the AEBC on October 18, 2016

Upgrading to Windows 10

·        Windows 10 had a free upgrade period which ended in July, but people with disabilities are still able to upgrade for free

During the 2016 AEBC National conference, the Access to Information and Copyright committee held a panel presentation about free and inexpensive accessibility software and built-in accessibility solutions based on universal design.

Below, you will find a list of compiled resources that may be of interest to those who would like to learn more about the solutions that were discussed. This is by no means an exhaustive or complete list, but we thank all those who submitted resources and hope that this list is helpful.

The AEBC Telecommunications (CRTC) Committee is pleased to share a detailed review of the DORO 824C Bell phone carried out by Ronald Pelletier, an active member in the Greater Montreal Chapter.

Ron’s report is detailed and offers an important perspective.

The phone is still under development and will no doubt add features and improvements.

Bell’s willingness to work with us by providing a phone for an extensive evaluation underlines Bell’s commitment to accessibility.

I urge members to read Ron’s evaluation, below.

I thank Ron for his detailed work on this project.

Leo A. Bissonnette, Ph.D.

DORO 824C FROM BELL (Evaluated by Ron Pelletier)

NOTE: This evaluation was made from the perspective of a totally blind person.

Students who are blind, deaf-blind or partially sighted often require access to material in alternative, accessible formats. There are many resources available out there, and the AEBC, including its Access to Information Committee, is on a mission to spread the word about some of them!

This blog post will tell you a bit about Bookshare, a provider of accessible online formats for thousands of books.

On June 23rd, 2015, I had the pleasure of conducting a workshop on how to use Facebook to post and read statuses, including those with hashtags. If you have any questions following this workshop, please feel free to leave a comment here.

A document has been produced containing detailed notes from the workshop. While these notes are detailed, they do not necessarily cover all topics discussed.

Social media is a powerful tool – It provides individuals just like you with a platform to share your views and your voice with millions of readers instantaneously. Suddenly, we are all connected with just the click of a button. The possibilities for advocacy and public education efforts are endless! But how can we use social media platforms responsibly, appropriately, and independently? How can we use social media to educate through positive and important dialogue?